Philip Morris Products SA v Nicoventures Trading Ltd [2023] EWHC 2616 (Pat)
Penultimate instalment of a series of four patent actions between Philip Morris and BAT concerning ‘heat-not-burn’ technology. The patent in suit was directed to the use of inductive heating in a heat-not-burn device, and specifically use of the Curie point of the susceptor material to self-regulate temperature. The invention was found obvious over a series of posts in an online forum for amateur vape enthusiasts and not infringed by Philip Morris’s IQOS Iluma product in any event. The infringement analysis contains a useful discussion of the third Actavis question. Philip Morris’s claim for Arrow type relief was rejected on discretionary grounds. Andrew Lykiardopoulos KC and Tom Alkin appeared for Phillip Morris. Nicholas Saunders KC and Kathryn Pickard appeared for BAT.